Techbargains Review - Dell XPS 15z Ultra Slim Laptop Computer

Techbargains Review - Dell XPS 15z Ultra Slim Laptop Computer

Dell recently introduced the new and improved Dell XPS 15z laptop. This is the third model in the current generation XPS lineup. We previously reviewed the XPS 15 and 17 laptops and gave them very high marks, however that does not mean they were without fault. The biggest criticism we pointed out was the bulky 1.5in thick chassis. This extra thickness added noticeable heft and of course detracted from the otherwise muted aesthetics of the laptop.

The XPS 15z sets itself as a solution to this problem. At only 0.97 inches thin at its thickest point, this laptop is touted by Dell to be the thinnest 15in laptop on the planet. This of course helps with the weight as well; the XPS 15z clocks in at 5.4lbs vs the 5.9lbs of the XPS 15. What is just as interesting to us, however, is whether or not Dell had to compromise some of the XPS's other high notes in order to achieve this svelte design.

Dell hit a homerun with this laptop in terms of aesthetics. The XPS 15z is sleek and sexy, eminently easier on the eyes than the XPS 15 and 17 laptops. Undoubtedly the slimmer design adds to the beauty of the 15z, but there are plenty of other nice touches as well. The chassis is anodized aluminum and the perimeter of the case as well as the touchpad is lined in chrome trim. All the grills, for example the heat exhaust vent and the speakers, are stamped with an intricate pattern. The hinges, although functionally identical to the XPS 15 and 17, now look like a solid metal coil. The chiclet style keypad is nicely backlit (all configurations come standard with this feature) and the modern font type on the keycaps is an interesting twist.

The 15z is a looker and definitely THE most aesthetically appealing notebook in Dell's current laptop lineup. It is very obvious that the 15z takes a lot of design elements from Apple, however although it does not look as good as the unibody Macbook Pro that it tries to emulate, it is still a gorgeous machine.

Performance

Equipped with a Core i5 Sandy Bridge processor, discrete graphics, and DDR3 memory, the 15z is certainly no slouch. Our model ran without a hitch on almost all applications. The laptop barely broke a sweat even while opening multiple browsers and manipulating RAW images in Photoshop, but that is to be expected with the overpowered processor. 1080p online content and MKVs also ran without a hitch. We also ran more processor/RAM heavy applications like Maya and 3ds Max for extended period of time and in general these programs ran smoothly. Rendering times were definitely slower than our i7 equipped XPS 15 and 17. Occasionally we would encounter some hiccups in the form of graphic artifacts (i.e. menu selections not showing up, random flickering), but this was an uncommon occurrence and did not seriously detract from our experience.

As a gaming rig, the XPS 15z fares relatively well. Our model was equipped with the i5-2410M 2.3GHz Sandy Bridge and the Geforce GT525 1GB video card. We observed that this combination is noticeably less powerful in games (especially at higher resolutions) than the i7 Sandy Bridge/Geforce GT550 combination we tested for the XPS 15 and 17. We noticed the biggest performance hits were with games that tax both the processor and GPU (like Dragon Age 2). That said, we were still able to pull some very playable numbers both at 1080p resolution and reduced 720p.

All games 1366x768 or 1920x1080 resolution and all settings at medium with AA turned off:

Batman Arkham Asylum [1366x768 - 60fps] [1920x1080 - 40-60fps]

Bulletstorm [1366x768 - 30-40fps] [1920x1080 27-35fps]

Dragon Age 2 [1366x768 - 17-23fps] [1920x1080 - 15-20fps]

Starcraft 2 [1366x768 - 40-50fps] [1920x1080 - 30-40fps]

NOTE: With Batman Arkham Asylum, we had to update the game in order for it to run at all

Screen

Like the XPS 15 and 17 screens, the 15z's 1920x1080 resolution is incredible. It essentially equals to double the pixels of a standard 1366x768 screen. Everything is just so razor sharp - in fact text was so small that some of us bargainmeisters actually complained it was too small (of course fixable with magnification). The 1080p screen is very versatile, you can fit more stuff on your desktop, set two Microsoft Word documents side by side, manipulate larger photos in Photoshop, watch Blu-Ray movies in full 1080p glory, and much more.

Out of the box, colors are quite accurate. Viewing angle is extremely good for a laptop. Viewing the screen from the sides and from the top resulted in very minimal change in color and brightness. Only when viewing the screen from the bottom did we notice a darkening of colors. It is definitely possible for a group of people to watch a movie on the laptop. Brightness is also plentiful; in most cases, we kept the brightness level to below 50%, and in the evening at the lowest possible setting. At 100% the screen is so bright that it can be used outdoors in full daylight. The screen has a glossy surface, which saturates colors and makes images more vibrant (which most mainstream users prefer), but there is also plenty of reflections. Raising the brightness helps somewhat, but smart placement of your laptop screen is recommended.

Connectivity

In terms of connectivity, the XPS 15 features options as robust as its larger brethren. Available options include both a mini DisplayPort and HDMI 1.4 out for video, 2 USB 3.0/USB 2.0 combo ports, eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port, gigabit ethernet, microphone and headphone jacks, and a built-in 9-in-1 card reader that comes standard.

What We Didn't Like

Noise and Temperature

We believe this is one of the two tradeoffs made in order for Dell to compact the size of the XPS. The fan on the XPS 15z turns on far more often than the XPS 15 and 17. It turns on when you're watching video clips in your browser, playing games, running Photoshop, any action that requires more than the most basic processing power. The fan is quite loud and was definitely distracting especially when we were watching movies.

The case also gets quite toasty, most noticeably on the underside of the laptop, but also on the palm rest and a section of the keyboard. The heat buildup was admittedly gradual, but it does get warm enough for your legs to sweat profusely if you decide to put this on your lap for any length of time.

Reduced Upgrade Options

This is the other tradeoff. We were disappointed to see that the XPS 15z does not allow any upgrade options for (1) Blu-Ray drive, (2) graphics card, and (3) i7 Quad-Core processor. Although these options are not necessary for the average surfer, these are all very useful upgrades for gamers and graphics users. It seems almost a waste for a laptop to include a 1080p screen but not allow the option for users to watch their Blu-Ray library on their laptop. Also, some of the caveats mentioned in relation to Maya/3ds Max and gaming performance would have been negated had users been allowed the option to upgrade to the same specifications as the XPS 15 and 17. Unfortunately, as of now, this is not a possibility.

Sealed Battery

We question the purpose of a sealed battery. It seems to us that Dell went this route solely to keep the laptop at the 1in thickness barrier. However, the battery life on this machine is not amazing (we ran it about 2.5 hours on medium to heavy usage, 50% brightness, wifi and bluetooth on) and we would have liked the option to either upgrade to a larger cell battery or have multiple batteries to swap out.

Our Verdict

Overall we feel the XPS 15z is another winner from Dell. In order to pack the XPS into a smaller chassis, the 15z is louder, hotter, and less powerful than its XPS 15 and 17 counterparts. However, it is still more than enough power for 90% of the computer users out there. In fact, we think there are really only three reasons why a prospective buyer would choose the original XPS 15 or 17 over this model.

The user plays a lot of the newest released games and/or uses his laptop as a graphics workstation and needs the maximum performance from his machine.

The user has an extensive Blu-Ray collection and wants to be able to watch all his content on a laptop equipped with a Blu-Ray player.

The user wants to save money. An XPS 15/17 with comparable specs costs about 10-20% less than the 15z. Our model was priced out at $999, but we have seen the XPS 15 model with the same specs go for $899, and after coupon codes only $799.